Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in all regions of the world except sub-Saharan Africa, with prevalence values of 85% at age 50 and an overall global mortality rate of >40%. It is a slow process, beginning as a benign accumulation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) in the intima of large and medium-sized arteries in the first decade of life, leading to clinical problems primarily in the middle-aged and elderly through further development of early lesions (fatty streaks) to fibrotic plaques and complicated lesions. The most severe clinical condition is associated with lesion rupture, causing infarction of an artery supplying the heart (myocardial infarction, MI), the brain (stroke) or peripheral tissues (peripheral artery disease, PAD). Injury to cardiac tissue can also result from the removal of occlusions and reperfusion of the tissue, causing further morbidity and mortality. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for novel therapeutics for the treatment and prophylaxis of atherosclerosis and reperfusion injury.